


Lonely Spirits

by fiddlingfrog



Category: Glitch (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-18
Updated: 2013-12-18
Packaged: 2018-01-05 00:12:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1087296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiddlingfrog/pseuds/fiddlingfrog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the end of the world, three spirits wait for the beginning of the next one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lonely Spirits

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheDivineGoat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDivineGoat/gifts).



All across the world of Ur panic was spreading. Rook attacks were on the rise. Rumors of the Giants floated from home to home, scrawled on subway cars and left on notes littering the ground. They (the invisible and omnipresent They) claimed the Giants were awaking, and that the world was soon to end.

“THE END IS NEIIIIIIIIIGHGH!”

And then there was the mysterious Forehorseman. The creature had shown up one day, seemingly everywhere at once, spouting warnings and dire portents. Everywhere he went fear of the future and regret for the past spread amongst the Glitchen.

Friends gathered in Groddle and watched sunsets at Distant End. They played games in Cebarkul and floated serenely above the Ur at uutif. Some gave away everything they had and never returned while others hoarded even more fiercely and refused to go. But in the end the world slowed to a crawl, the sun rose, and the giants all woke up...

*****

“HARK, THE GIANTS AWAKEN! ALL THINGS ARE EVANESCENT!!”

“Oh please quiet down. And take off that silly mask.”

“Can't I have some fun?” replied Gwendolyn as she pulled her head out of the horsehead. She shook out her hair as she removed the jacket, hooves, and bells that made up her costume. “The Glitchen needed to be warned. And besides, you dressed up as 'Sandra the Apocalypso Dancer' a few turns ago.”

Esquibeth let out a heavy sigh. “How much longer are you going to use that as an excuse?”

“At least once more.” Gwendolyn smoothed down her long blue dress and pulled a piece of straw out from behind her ear. “What else is there to do?”

Esquibeth looked around, peering into the infinite white expanse in which she and Gwendolyn drifted. “We'll find sanctuary soon enough. And then...” she reached into the satchel slung over her shoulders. The bright pink cloth contrasted sharply with the tan suede shirt and slacks she wore. “I managed to grab a couple cubimals. Would you like a race?”

“Why not?” As Gwendolyn spoke, the formless void began to darken and coalesce. Within moments the two Glitchen found themselves in a wide and deep cavern. Green crystals glistened by the light of the fire that had also appeared. The floor was littered with dozens of gas tree seedlings, and outside the mouth of the cave rain poured down in sheets, obscuring everything beyond.

“Good timing. I'll draw out a cubimal course.” Pulling a piece of chalk from her pockets Gwendolyn added. “Any idea if we're going to get company this time?”

“I don't know. I saw dozens of candidates prove themselves, but I've no idea if any of them were Remembered. We'll just have to hope someone come by”

“So what do we do 'til then?” Gwendolyn asked.

“Just be -”

“Hello?” a new voice called out. “Is there anyone in here?”

“That didn't take long!” exclaimed Gwendolyn as she hopped to her feet. “Yeah, we're back here by the fire! Come on in and say hi.”

The sound of footsteps echoed off the stone walls as a solitary Glitchen made his way into the cave. Gwendolyn and Esquibeth stood with their back to the fire, trying to get a better look at the newcomer. His dark hair had been thoroughly flattened by the rain. He wore a long sweater with striped slacks, and he was barefoot.”

“Hi, I'm Meef. Do you know what happened? I was hanging around Cebarkul when everything went white, and the next thing I know I'm standing outside your cave.” His eyes darted around the cave, taking in all the details. “Which cave is this, by the way?”

“Hello. Please join us, My name is Esquibeth, and my friend over there is Gwendolyn.”

“Pleased to meet you. Named after the heroes, huh?”

“Nope. We _are_ the heroes.” Gwendolyn said.

“Uh huh.” Meef's voice dripped with disbelief. “Aren't you usually more, y'know, floaty?”

“Yes,” replied Esquibeth. “When the Giants are dreaming we memories have a kind of half-existence. But here, outside the dream, we're as solid as everything else.”

“Which is wonderful, 'cause I can finally pull my hair up out of my face.” added Gwendolyn. She pulled a hair clip out of her pocket and pulled her hair into a quick twist on the back of her head.

“Wait a minute, lemme see that.” Meef walked closer to the fire and behind Gwendolyn. Her hair clip, made of the finest bones, shimmered in the firelight. “It is you. Only Gwendolyn was ever able to wear the butterfly bone hairclip.”

“I told you.” Gwendolyn said.

Meef turned to face Esquibeth. “So you really are...?”

“Yes. Creator of the first shrine. The one that sang to Grendaline.”

“Wow. Um... so what's going on?”

“Your world came to an end. The Giants all woke up at once, the Dream ended, and now all that's left are scattered memories like us.”

Meef furrowed his brow as though he didn't understand the words. “If the world did end, and the Giants woke up, then how are we here?”

“Here, you'll feel better with a snack.” Gwendolyn pulled a long stick out of a pocket and a marshmallow out of the other. She speared the marshmallow on the stick and began to toast it on the fire. “Remember how if you didn't eat often enough you'd end up in Naraka?” And how when that happened you were cut off from the world, but still part of it? This is like the opposite of that. You're no longer part of the world you knew; you're a part of the structure of the world.”

“Okay, but _w_ _here_ are we?”

“Where we've always been – inside the mind of the Giants. Or a Giant, at least.” explained Esquibeth. “Even when they're awake they still remember bits of their dreams, far better than we can. I think this cave is special to Zille.”

“Cause it's a cave, duh!” interjected Gwendolyn from the far side of the fire.

“Well, okay, it seems kind of obvious when you say it like that. But couldn't it be Cosma? That might explain all the gas tree seedlings.”

“No way. I know what Cosma likes and believe me, this isn't it.” said Gwendolyn as she shook a flaming marshmallow off of her toasting stick.

“What's going to happen to us?” asked Meef.

“That depends on who falls asleep first,” said Esquibeth. “The first Giant to begin dreaming will set the stage for the rest of the dream. That's how we got the Ages, you know. Some of the Giants are better at remembering us from one dream to the next. You're already familiar with our exploits. The stories you know are what bought us this little measure of immortality.” She took a long drink from the canteen tied at her waist. “So tell us about yourself. You must have done something to catch the eye of one of the Giants. What was it?”

“I don't know!” said Meef. “I'm not anything special. I kept a small garden, I went on quests, I was good at smelting copper. Uhh, I once evaded my neighbor's hi sign for ten minutes. Like I said, nothing special.” Meef shivered in his still-wet clothes. “Why aren't I freaking out about this? I feel like I should be freaking out.”

“Those with the tendency to lose their heads tend to be Forgotten from one dream to the next. Look, I know it's a lot to take in, so just sit down by the fire and dry off. You'll feel better when you're not soaked to the bone.”

“Okay. Wait, no. How do I know this isn't some kind of elaborate prank? Or am I on some kind of vision quest? Did the Rube slip me some bad purple powder?”

“I'm afraid not. The world as you knew it is gone. You survived, for now. And your fate will be determined by the next Giant to sleep.”

“And until then?”

“You wait.”

*****

Meef was staring out of the mouth of the cave, eyes squinted as he peered through the rain. “Is it me, or is the rain letting up out there?”

Esquibeth opened her eyes, unfolded her legs, and sat up from her meditation. “It could be” she said as she stood beside him.

“Does that mean the Giants are falling asleep again?”

“You shouldn't be so impatient,” she said gently. “They don't measure time like we do, it's not like this happens every day. When I first met Gwendolyn, when Grendaline flooded all the dreams and made them her own, we spent what felt like a couple centuries sitting in an endless field of cabbage.” Esquibeth smiled faintly. “The sunshine was wonderful, but I could have done without the smell.”

“Centuries?”

“Or hours. Hard to tell when the sun stays in the same place in the sky all day.”

“I'm sorry, it's still a lot to get used to. I'm still worried about my friends, my family...” Meef took a deep breath. “I mean, am I the only one to have survived?”

“You're still thinking literally, you need to stop that. You passed the Awakening, you were Remembered. You're part of the story of Ur now.”

“But what does that _mean_?” asked Meef. He ran his hand through his hair, pulling it into a tall, tight point.

“We'll find out when the cycle starts over. You're part of the story, but your role hasn't been set yet.”

A frownl ran over Meef's face. “Y'know, I'm starting to get a bit tired -” he began, but he was interrupted as the ground shook gently and small pebbles fell from the ceiling of the cave. “What's going on?” cried Meef.

“I think you were right. One of the Giants is starting to doze off. The dream is continuing. This is odd, I've never seen it progress this quickly before.”

“Who is it?”

Esquibeth closed her eyes and put one hand on the cave wall. “Tii, I think. Gwendolyn, what's your opinion?”

“Yeah, probably Tii. I've got this weird alchemical taste at the back of my throat. Hey Meef, this should be fun! Tii is pretty awesome once you get to know him.”

“No he isn't.” confided Esquibeth. “It won't be long now, and we'll find out what you're destined for.” She closed her eyes and sat back down on the cave floor. “Just relax until then.”

Meef closed his eyes and began to practice onf of the breathing techniques Esquibeth had shown him: in through the nose, out through the mouth. After a couple dozen repetitions he slowly opened his eyes and looked down. “Auuugh!”

“What's wrong now?” asked Esquibeth with a sigh.

“I'm fading!” yelled Meef. “Is this supposed to happen?”

Esquibeth opened her eyes to look at her newest companion. He was indeed fading, the color draining out of him. Then his body begane to shimmer and she could see straight through him. She saw Gwendolyn packing up the cubimals and other assorted distractions: marshmallow stick, music block, enormous wax lips.

“I don't feel right. Please, help me!”

Gwendolyn walked to the front of the cave and handed Esquibeth the pink bag. She turned to face Meef, the slight grin that had been her trademark now absent. “Hold on buddy. We'll figure something out.” Quietly, she added out of the corner of her mouth, “Won't we?”

“I hope so, I've never seen this before. Meef, how do you feel?”

“Kind of empty, like my heart's drying up and shrinking.” Meef put his hand to his chest and grimaced, his eyes squeezed tight. “Oh crumbs it hurts!”

“What do you suppose is going on?” Gwendolyn asked.

“I'm thinking...”

“...thinking!” Meef's shout quickly faded into a whisper, and then silence. His body disappeared into nothingness just as quickly, leaving only a faint sparkle in the air.

“What happened?” asked Gwendolyn, as she took Esquibeth's hand. “That was horrible.”

“I think he was Forgotten. Maybe Tii and Grendaline have different standards of notoriety.”

“Is there any chance he's okay?”

Esquibeth frowned. “Possibly. Doubtful, but possible. As soon as you can, send some Glitchen looking for him.”

“Of course.” Gwendolyn took the clip from her hair and shook it loose. “I can feel the pull myself now. Good luck.” She gave Esquibeth's hand a short squeeze. “I'll see you in a little while.” And with that she faded out of sight, a slight frown on her face.

*****

The sun rose over Ur for the first time, for the thousandth time, and found three lonely spirits awaiting visitors, waiting for a chance to interact with the world once more, to tell stories of past glories, and to be Remembered.


End file.
